The Hidden Tribe
by GraceyBlackwood
Summary: Akana lost most of her tribe four years ago and was then taken in by The Dragon Of The West, things have now become more complicated. Akana is expected to return to her tribe and lead them down the path of revenge, a path she does not wish to take.


_Akana trembled as the rain pelted her bare arms and legs. Her clothes were soaked through and she could not risk bending the rain away from her. The people who had escaped the siege on her village were counting on her to survive. The Hidden Water Tribe had been safe for almost one hundred years, gathering information on the outside world and sending assassins after the Firelord. And now the village was gone, the king and queen dead and most of their subjects. _

_The whole village had been prepared for such an attack, everyone knew where they were needed to be and when they were to return. Akana was the next in line for the throne and she would be given it in four years. Not that she wanted to be the ruler, in fact she would happily have handed the throne to her younger sibling, had she not been an only child. _

_The thirteen year old hugged her knees to her chest, there were no trees nearby to offer shelter and the storm above her was beginning to worsen. She thought back to all the times she had travelled by herself, the storms she had faced by herself were nothing compared to this. Of course she had always found herself some sort of shelter to wait them out. She was not a fan of cold weather after all. _

_Her minded drifted back to her lessons. She had always been a gifted student when it came to hand to hand combat and the ability to blend into other ways of life. Water bending had been more of a challenge but she was determined to be the best in all her classes and pushed herself. Her parents were proud of her and had told her that she would be sent on her first mission within a year. However, Akana felt conflicted._

_There had always been something inside her that separated her from the rest of her peers. She had come with a separate moral compass, one that was stubbornly set on peace. Now she was expected to take revenge for her parents and all their followers, but she did not know where to start. She wanted to hate the Fire Nation Troops, to blame them for her family's demise, but something in the back of her mind made her feel guilty whenever she did try to hate them._

_An image of a middle age woman floated into her mind. The woman had short orange hair and murky green eyes. Her skin was freckled and her face was round, giving her a gentle and compassionate expression. The woman often drifted into Akana's mind whenever she was having a moral dilemma, even though Akana had never met her before in her life. _

_She knew no one with such a hair colour, the closest she had seen in her travels to the bright orange locks was her own naturally cream coloured ones. Still she felt as though the woman was important and it was not the only odd image she saw on a regular basis. _

_Akana felt a shiver run down her spine and looked into the sky. She felt her body throw itself backwards, over her shoulders and onto her feet, a lightning bolt striking something that was right in front of where she had been sitting. _

_Sparks lit the surrounding the area, revealing a slightly rounded old man who was emitting sparks of lightening from his fingertips. __**He's redirecting the lightening, **__Akana realised, gaping at the sight. The man turned, taking in the wide eyed girl and smiled, offering her a hand. Akana noted the slightly sad look in his eyes and felt a strange sadness creep into her stomach. _

"_Now what is a young lady such as yourself doing out in such a wild storm alone?" He asked, concern flooding his voice. _

_Akana opened her mouth, but closed it again, unable to think of a plausible answer. Why was she out in this storm? Why hadn't she stopped at the last town? There had been plenty of warning for this storm. Unable to formulate a logical response she shook her head and shrugged._

_The man's smile seemed to fall at the response. "Where are your parents?" He asked, though Akana could tell that he already knew the answer._

"_They are gone." She looked away, clenching her jaw, trying to hold back the tears. She was not one to act emotionally, particularly in front of people. _

_Thunder rumbled through the sky, reminding Akana and the old man of their current situation. "I'm Iroh." He bowed respectfully to her and she responded in kind, slightly shocked that the man in front of her was The Dragon Of The West. "Let us find some shelter…" He paused silently asking for her name._

"_Zahlia." She responded without hesitation. She now knew where she would spend the next four years._


End file.
